Pilot Financial + RDFS: What Does This Mean for You?
As we left 2020 behind, many of us were ready to embrace some big changes - and while some of those changes have been slow in coming, good things have been happening here at Pilot Financial.
At the beginning of 2021, Pilot Financial and RD Financial Services announced a merger of the two organizations that will now be marketed under the Pilot Financial brand. While many financial professionals attended the virtual meeting announcing this change, we remain dedicated to keeping the lines of communication open and feel it’s important that our current and incoming advisors understand how this happened and what this means.
It was a long time coming.
The partners of Pilot Financial and RD Financial Services have known each other for over 20 years and began discussing their shared value propositions a few years ago. As the conversation progressed, they realized that there were potential synergies that could benefit the advisors within both organizations if they were to merge. To quote Chris Roney: “We believe that together, we will provide an unparalleled and enhanced service model, more robust advanced sales and marketing support, succession planning, and compliance support, to name a few.”
Adds Ron Angarella with RD Financial Services: “This is a true merger. It’s not a financial transaction, expense reduction play or compensation driven. It is about leveraging our combined skills and resources to drive growth. That includes the growth of our existing associates through enhanced services and business development and attracting new relationships as a result of what we provide to our current group. It is based on improvement, which in and of itself is very positive.”
How Will this Change Things?
With any merger, everyone wants to know what is changing and what’s is staying the same. So, let’s talk about it.
What is changing?
- The RDFS brand name will be discontinued and all marketing will now be conducted under Pilot Financial.
- Daryl King will step down as an OSJ to focus on business development. Chris Roney will assume all duties and responsibility as the OSJ and will continue to be your advocate.
- Moving forward, you might encounter new personnel. Both organizations have exceptional teams that support you and your practice, and each brings a different niche and talent.
- Shared benefits of growth potential.
- Enhanced support for financial professionals in areas such as:
Practice development and business consultation
Ensemble practice consultation
Training
Marketing and branding
Succession planning - The ability to invest in the organization. As we invest in the organization, we invest in you and your practice’s success.
What is staying the same?
Your relationship with those who currently support your practice, as well as your broker-dealer. In other words, everything you have now, PLUS more.
The Pilot Financial Leadership Team
Our support team is comprised of six individuals (including five partners), has over 120 years of combined experience and are committed to our advisors’ success.
- Christopher Roney – OSJ Manager
- Daryl King – Business Development
- Ron Angarella – Strategic Planning
- Greg Smith – PFA Life and Annuity Distribution
- Bill Harnden – RDMG Life and Annuity Distribution
- Roger Seigler – Consultant (As Roger winds down his successful career, he will not be a partner, but will remain as a consultant.)
As we move forward, additional staff and resources will be added when they become necessary, but as of right now our advisors will continue to process their business and transactions as they do now.
Now What?
We’re ready to enhance the services our current financial professionals receive while also bringing in the next generation of advisors. This means additional focus on technological advancements and sharing best practices with our affiliated professionals to help them grow their businesses and increase productivity.
In other words – we’ve got your back.
We’re also committed to supporting you as you consider things like succession planning by attracting a larger group of qualified candidates within the new organization. We will provide resources for capital to assist with succession planning by utilizing outside resources or possibly providing internal capital resources. Finally, we will use the resources provided by Lincoln and LFS that can be applied to succession planning, including template agreements, legal review, and compliance structures to make the transition as smooth as possible.
The bottom line with this merger is that we don’t consider you associates; our advisors are part of our family. And whether you’re reading this as an established advisor within Pilot Financial or RD Financial Services or you’re exploring the option of becoming affiliated with our Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) for the first time, we’re ready to answer your questions.
We invite you to CLICK HERE for an FAQ about this merger and should you have additional questions, please feel free to email us at CRoney@pilotfinancial.com. As always, we remain committed to supporting our financial professionals as they create successful and meaningful practices for their clients.